Joint Declaration by the social movements of the field: land, territory and Dignity!

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Joint Declaration by the social movements of the field: land, territory and Dignity!

The social movements of the field, who gathered this week in the Unit Meeting of workers, Workers and People in the field, water and forests, in Brasilia, released a joint statement that represents a joint demonstration and political unity of the peasants, small farmers, landless, indigenous and Quilombola, besides environmentalists, human rights defenders and students who participated in this construction. The meeting is a response to the challenges of our country to overcome the inequality in the distribution of land, which remains unchanged since the Decade of 20, but with risks economic, social, cultural and environmental impacts as a result of primary specialization of the economy. The capitalist project underway in Brazil, represented in the field by agribusiness, has as objective the accumulation of capital in the primary sector, serving the interests and mastery of foreign capital in the field through the transnational. The offensive this project cause crushing and the deterritorialization of the workers of the field people, water and forests. In addition, it prevents the implementation of agrarian reform, the demarcation and recognition of indigenous territories and quilombolas. On the other hand, have negative environmental and social impacts, with the increase in violence, the violation of the territory of fishers and forest people, the weakening of family agriculture and farmer, the entry of workers and consumers to contaminated food and conviviality with environmental degradation. The meeting shows that it is essential to a project of life and work for the production of healthy foods on a sufficient scale to meet the needs of society, which respects nature and generate dignity in the field. To do this, it is necessary to carry out land reform, defend our territorial sovereignty, ensure food sovereignty, developing the Agroecology with the centrality of the peasant and family agriculture and traditional forms of production and field education, indigenous and quilombola as strategic tools for emancipation.Here’s the statement. Land, territory and Dignity! After centuries of oppression and resistance, “the peasant masses oppressed and exploited”, in a demonstration of ability of articulation, political unity and building a national proposal, gathered at the “National Congress of Farmers and farm workers about the character of the agrarian reform“, in the year 1961, in Belo Horizonte. Already in this field people Congress, assuming a role of political subjects, pointed to the centrality of the Earth as a living space, production and socio-cultural identity. This unity and political force led the Government of João Goulart the incorporate reform as part of its reforms, contrary to the interests of elites and becoming one of the elements that led to the coup of 1964. Governments scammers persecuted, tortured, imprisoned and murdered leaders, but not destroyed the dream, nor the peasant struggles for a piece of ground. After decades of resistance and complaints of oppression, the mobilizations and social struggles have created conditions for the resumption and broadening of the peasant organization, making emerge a diversity of subjects and topics. Along with the struggle for agrarian reform, the struggle for land and territory comes claiming subject as no land, indigenous, quilombolas, fishermen, gatherers, breakers, traditional communities, farmers, peasants, rural workers and other people in the field, water and forests. In this process of formation of political subjects, claim women and youth in the fight against patriarchal culture, by visibility and equality of rights and dignity in the field. In new demonstration of ability to articulate and political unity, we men and women of all ages, we meet 51 years later, in Brasilia, at the national meeting of workers, People in the field, water and forests, with centrality to struggle around the Earth, currently expressed in the struggle for Agrarian Reform, Land, territory and dignity. We are building the unit in response to the challenges of inequality in the distribution of land. As in the years 60, this inequality remains unchanged, with a deepening of economic risks, social, cultural and environmental, in consequence of the primary specialization of the economy. The first decade of the 21st century reveals a project of refitting of conservative modernization of agriculture, initiated by the military, interrupted in the nineties and resumed as primary expansion project for the external sector over the past twelve years, under the name of agribusiness, which is our common enemy. This project, in its essence, produces inequalities in land and social relations in the countryside deepens the external dependency and performs a ultrapredatória exploration of nature. His protagonists are the financial capital, the large chains of production and marketing of global commodities, the landlordism and the Brazilian State in their financing functions – including allocating public resources for large projects and infrastructure – and (des) regulating the Earth. The capitalist project underway in Brazil pursues specialized capital accumulation in the primary sector, promoting agricultural overexploitation they were hydroelectric, mineral and oil company. This overexploitation they were, on behalf of the need to balance external transactions, serves the interests and mastery of foreign capital in the field through the transnational agro and hidronegócio. This design causes the crushing and the deterritorialization of the workers of the field people, water and forests. Their environmental and social consequences are not carrying out agrarian reform, demarcation and recognition of indigenous territories and maroon, the increase in violence, the violation of the territory of fishers and forest people, the weakening of family agriculture and farmer, the entry of workers and consumers to contaminated food and conviviality with environmental degradation. There are socio-cultural consequences such as masculinization and aging of the field by the absence of opportunities for youth and women, resulting in social reproduction of the peasantry. These consequences were aggravated by the absence, lack of suitability or emergency assistance character of public policies. These policies contributed to the process of social inequality between the countryside and the city, the emptying of the rural environment and the increased vulnerability of the subjects of the field, water and forests. Instead of promoting equality and dignity, the policies and actions of the State often derive rights and promote violence in the field. Even generating conflicts and being the enemy of the people, the Brazilian State in their spheres of Executive, judicial and legislative branches, historically has been investing in strengthening the development model, concentrator and exclusionary debaser. Despite all the problems generated, the successive Governments – including the current – maintain the option for agro and hidronegócio. The Brazil, as a country rich in land, water, biodiversity and natural goods, attracts the speculative capital and agricultural export, stronger the negative impacts on the territories and indigenous, quilombolas, traditional communities and farmers. Externally, the Brazil has become the lever neocolonizador project, expanding this model to other countries, especially in Latin America and Africa. It is essential to a project of life and work for the production of healthy foods on a sufficient scale to meet the needs of society, which respects nature and generate dignity in the field. At the same time, the rescue and strengthening of there were fiefdoms, the defense and recovery of its cultures and knowledge is needed for alternative projects of development and society.Before this, we say:1) reform as essential policy development fair, popular, supportive and sustainable, assuming change in land ownership, democratization of access to land, respect to the territories and guarantee of social reproduction of field people, water and forests.2) territorial sovereignty, that understands the power and autonomy of people in protect and defend freely the Commons and the social space and fight occupying and establish their relationships and ways of life, developing different cultures and forms of production and reproduction, which mark and give identity to the territory.3) food sovereignty and the right of peoples to define their own policies and strategies for sustainable production, distribution and consumption of foods that guarantee the right to adequate food to the entire population, respecting their cultures and the variety of ways to produce, market and manage these processes.4) to Agroecology as the basis for sustainability and social and productive organization of peasant and family agriculture, as opposed to the agribusiness model. The Agroecology is a way to produce and relate in agriculture, which preserves the biodiversity, ecosystems and genetic heritage, which produces healthy food, free of GMO and pesticides, that values knowledge and culture of the people of the countryside, of waters and forests and defends life.5) the centrality of the peasant and family agriculture and traditional forms of production and its strengthening through structuring public policies, such as promotion and subsidized credit and appropriate to the realities; technical assistance based on ecological principles; research that recognize and incorporate traditional knowledge; training, especially youth; encourage cooperation, agro-industrialization and commercialization.6) the need for equitable relationships, mutual respect and recognition, especially towards women, surpassing the sexual division of labor and the patriarchal power and combating all types of violence.7) energy sovereignty as a right of peoples, which demand the social control over the sources, production and distribution of energy, changing the current Brazilian energy model.8) field education, indigenous and quilombola as strategic tools for the emancipation of the subject, which arise from the experiences of struggle for the right to education and by a political-pedagogical project linked to the interests of the working class. They oppose rural education, which aims to assist a project of agriculture and society subject to the interests of capital, which submits the schooling to the preparation of labour minimally qualified and cheap and that enslaves workers in monoculture production system.9) the need for democratization of the media, today concentrated in few families and the capitalist project service hub, that criminalize the social movements and organizations in the field, water and forests.10) the need for recognition by the State of the rights of the people affected by major projects, ensuring the free prior and informed consultation, and redress in cases of violation of rights.We commit ourselves to:1- strengthen social organizations and to intensify the process of unity among the workers, the people of the countryside, forests and waters, posing as Centre to class struggle and the fight against the common enemy, the capital and its current expression in the field, the agro and hidronegócio.2- to expand the unit in the coming periods, building common agendas and fighting unit processes for carrying out agrarian reform, recognition, titling, demarcation of indigenous lands, and the explosion of the Quilombola communities and traditional territories, ensuring territorial rights, dignity and autonomy.3- to strengthen the struggle for agrarian reform as unitary flag of the workers and peoples of the field, water and forests.4- the build and strengthen alliances between subject and field of the city, national and international level, in class strategies against the capital and in defense of a just society, egalitarian, sustainable and solidarity.5- the fight for massive ecological transition, against pesticides, for the production of healthy foods, for food sovereignty, in defense of biodiversity and seeds.6- building a common agenda to bring the construction criteria, access, comprehensiveness, character and social control over public policies, like PRONAF, PNAE, PAA, PRONERA, PRONACAMPO, research and extension, among others, towards the people of the countryside, of waters and forests.7- strengthen the struggle of women for equality and rights, by the end of the violence.8- the widen recognition of the strategic importance of youth in the dynamics of development and social reproduction of field people, water and forests.9- the fight for changes in the current production model based on petro-dependent, high energy consumption.10- the combat and denounce violence and impunity in the field and the criminalization of social movements, leaders and promoted by public and private actors. 11- the fight for the recognition of the responsibility of the State about the death and disappearance of peasants, as well as the rights to repair their relatives, with the creation of a peasant Committee by Amnesty, memory, truth and justice to focus in the work of the Special Committee on dead and missing politicians, seeking the inclusion of everyone affected by repression. We, workers, people in the field, water and forests require the redirection of the policies and actions of the Brazilian State, because the field does not support more. We will follow in March, mobilized in unity and struggle and, in the fight against our common enemy, we will build a country and a just society, sustainable and solidarity. Brasília, August 22, 2012. Association of Rural family homes (ARCAFAR) Brazil’s women’s Association (AMB) Brazilian Association of agrarian reform (OPEN) Brazilian Association of Forest engineering students (ABEEF) National articulation of Agroecology (ANA) Articulation of the indigenous peoples of Brazil (APIB) Indigenous Missionary Council (CIMI) CARITAS Brasileira National coordination of Maroon (CONAQ) National Confederation of agricultural workers (CONTAG) Comissão Pastoral da Pesca (CPP) Comissão Pastoral da Terra (CPT) Central of workers of Brazil (CTB) Central Única dos Trabalhadores (CUT) The Federation of Students of Agronomy of Brazil (FEAB) Family agriculture workers Federation (FETRAF) PHASE Greenpeace INESC Marcha Mundial das Mulheres (MMM) Movement of dam affected people (MAB) Popular Peasant Movement (MCP) Movement of peasant women (MMC) Movement of Rural working women do Nordeste (MMTR-NE) Movement of small farmers (MPA) Movement of fishermen and Artisanal Fishers (MPP) Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra (MST) Interstate movement of women Babassu Coconut breakers (MIQCB) Oxfam Brazil Rural Youth Ministry (PJR) Dhesca Platform Network Cephas National Union of workers in Agricultural Research and development (SINPAF) MARIANA SENIOR DF Land rights Unicafes VIA CAMPESINA BRAZIL